Behind the Burger
Behind every burger is a story. Produced by the New Mexico Beef Council, Behind the Burger introduces you to the ranchers, families, and industry professionals who raise cattle, steward the land, and keep beef at the center of New Mexico’s culture and economy. We go beyond the plate to explore heritage, hard work, nutrition, and the future of beef in our state - sharing transparent conversations that connect consumers to the people behind their food.
Episodes
Beef doesn’t stay a great eating experience by accident, and neither does consumer trust. We’re joined by Dr. AJ Tarpoff, the beef extension veterinarian at Kansas State University, to talk about what happens behind the scenes when research, ranch reality, and the dinner plate all have to line up.
We start with AJ’s unique background across the beef supply chain, from his family’s slau...
Drought isn’t a rare event in the Southwest, it’s a planning assumption. From Farmington’s Stockmanship and Stewardship event, we sit down with Dean Fish, a southern Arizona rancher, Arizona Beef Council member, and longtime Extension livestock specialist, to get honest about how real ranch decisions get made when grass, water, and time are limited.
We talk about Dean’s work mana...
The difference between “fine” beef and unforgettable beef usually isn’t a fancy cut. It’s heat, timing, and knowing what you’re looking at on the board. We’re in the kitchen at the Santa Fe School of Cooking with Chef Mica Chavez, cooking shoulder to shoulder and building a smoky New Mexico chile barbecue sauce that’s made to pair with beef, not hide it.
We start with...
We team up with Evan and Tyler from the Meat Dudes to clear up what American Wagyu is and why labels like “Kobe” and “Wagyu burger” can mislead. We dig into genetics, sourcing, and cooking so you can buy beef with confidence and get a great result at home.
• Evan and Tyler’s path from restaurants to a Wagyu-focused butcher shop and podcast
• What Wagyu means in plain t...
A ranch can change overnight, and so can your role in it. We’re joined by Candy Baca, a sixth-generation rancher east of Las Vegas, New Mexico, who stepped in after an unexpected loss and built a direct-to-consumer beef program to keep her family operation strong. She shares what it’s like moving from a traditional cow-calf routine to selling local beef to real families who want to know the story behind ...
A ranch partnership sounds simple until you price a feeder calf, hit a drought, or unload fresh cattle that have never seen a hot wire. We’re out near Fort Sumner, New Mexico with Luke and Donna Cortese and Taylor and Kayla Lee to tell the full story of how two families build a cattle operation together and why trust, fairness, and daily discipline matter more than hype.
We talk through the real work be...
A lot has to go right before a kid in New Mexico bites into a steak finger at school, and most of it happens far from the cafeteria line. From Roswell, USA Beef Packing is doing the quiet, essential work of turning cattle into safe, inspected, traceable beef that can serve communities across the state.
We sit down with Joe Madrid, owner of USA Beef Packing, and Nayely Madrid, office manager, to talk abo...
The real story of New Mexico beef isn’t a TV montage of horses and hero shots. It’s drought math, grass management, and a daily promise that the cattle get water and care before anything else. From the New Mexico Cattle Growers office in Moriarty, we sit down with Kimberly Stone, a fifth-generation rancher from Capitan, to talk about what it takes to keep a commercial cow-calf operation moving forward wh...
A fifth-generation rancher from Roswell, New Mexico, pulls back the curtain on how a family outfit survives drought, policy, and razor-thin margins without losing its soul. Bronson Corn joins Carollann Romo to share the decisions that kept their herd intact—building a cow-focused feed yard as a drought tool, rotating entire ranches through pens to rest brittle grasslands, and accepting the hard work of calving...
We sit down with Tom Paterson, rancher and new president of New Mexico Cattle Growers, to talk stewardship, drought strategy, and how data and design make cattle calmer and beef better. From policy wins to local processing, we share a clear path to resilient ranching.
• law-to-ranch journey and Spur Ranch origins
• role and scope of New Mexico Cattle Growers
• drought, culling decisions, and infrastruct...
We trace how a ranch family in Curry County built a vertically integrated beef business, from wheat pasture yearlings to a fresh meat counter known for prime cuts, green chile brats, and face-to-face service. We compare grocery and direct beef, tackle pricing myths, and share what’s next, including USDA inspection and expanded local delivery.
• Family ranch roots and multi-state cow-calf, stocker, and f...
Start with 12 cows, add three counties of scattered leases, mix in a veterinarian, a range scientist, and two determined brothers, and you get a modern ranch story that’s as practical as it is inspiring. We sit down with Jim and Jovani Armendariz to trace their family’s path from their parents’ arrival in America to a 300-cow operation known for turning bare ground into healthy grass—and heal...
Hard truths, open pastures, and a lot of heart—Heidi Humphries invites us into her family’s Black Angus cow‑calf ranch outside Tucumcari, New Mexico, and shows what real stewardship looks like. We dig into the daily choices that keep cattle healthy and a multi‑generation operation moving forward: adapting to arid grasslands, rotating pastures with intention, fixing water lines after storms, and building ...
A famous outlaw's grave you can see from the kitchen sink, a trail that once fed frontier forts, and a family betting on rain—this is ranching in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. We sit down with Sarah Fitzgerald, chair of the New Mexico Beef Council, to unpack what it really takes to raise beef in an arid landscape where stocking rates stretch to 50–70 acres per animal unit and every decision hinges on land, wa...
Curiosity, service, and straight talk drive this deep dive with New Mexico rancher and board member Boe Lopez, who opens up about life on the range and the work behind a trustworthy beef supply. We trace his path from a family operation rooted in generations of grit to leadership roles that demand tough decisions, transparency, and constant learning. Along the way, Boe breaks down what most folks never see: how Beef...
We sit down at Corralitos Ranch with fourth-generation cattleman Ross Foster to explore drought planning, water work, herd temperament, and the real meaning of stewardship on public and private lands. Grit meets grace as we follow the choices that make cattle calm, grass recover, and families keep going.
• family history and purpose of the Las Cruces ranch
• drought, wind and the decision to let past...
What does it take to keep a ranch thriving when prices swing, rain stalls, and the next generation needs a runway? We sit with Jim and Jay Hill outside Las Cruces to map a path from mules and tobacco fields to GPS tractors, custom feeding, alfalfa, cotton, seed crops, and even commercial real estate. Their story is equal parts resilience and reinvention, proving that diversification is not a buzzword—it’...
We celebrate a year of bold outreach: a locally piloted hot air balloon, a fast-growing school beef grant, a statewide sports nutrition push, and farm tours that bring health pros onto ranches. Every move centers one goal—connect producers and consumers with clear stories, real education, and local pride.
• Launching a New Mexico Beef hot air balloon with Zia approval
• Starting a podcast to bridge r...
A lobby fight over the beef checkoff. A dusty arena humming with beginners and world champs. And a simple reframing that changed everything: team roping isn’t just a rodeo discipline - it’s “cowboy golf.” We sit down with Denny Gentry to chart how a ranch kid from southern New Mexico helped unite a divided industry, grew local qualifiers into national institutions, and built the infrastructur...
Early mornings on horseback and late nights in a tractor aren’t a contradiction—they’re the operating system of a ranch that actually works. We sit down with Fort Sumner’s Jimmie Fitzgerald to trace how a Texas upbringing, New Mexico grass, and a stubborn love for doing things right built a family operation that farms, grazes, and finishes with purpose.
Jimmie opens up about making the...
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